Three Kingdoms

Just when Fei Qian returned to Pingyang, Zhang Yan, who was far away in Montenegro, commanded his troops and horses, finally walked out from the Taihang Mountains over the mountains and ridges, and stationed himself in the mountainous area near Wugong County.

Yu Du, who had been wandering around the surrounding mountains with his troops and horses, received the news and quickly gathered his troops and horses and rushed to meet Zhang Yan. After a battle at Yecheng, most of Yu Du's original men and horses had been destroyed, and only more than 3,000 of the eight thousand men were left, and they looked haggard and miserable.

Seeing the appearance of Yu Du's troops, Zhang Yan was still surprised even though she was somewhat prepared. She couldn't help but frowned and said, "How could it be like this?"

Yu Du smiled bitterly and said: "Commander...it's a long story..."

Zhang Yan asked Yu Du to sit down and said comfortingly: "It's okay. Who can guarantee that he will succeed in everything and not fail at all? It's okay, it's okay. Sit down. What happened in Yecheng?"

Zhang Yan asked as she asked someone to get a water bag and dry food and handed them to Yu Du.

Yu Du thanked him, took a few bites of the dark mixed flour pancakes, and then drank a few mouthfuls of water. Fang let out a long sigh, put down the water bag, and said, "Alas! At the beginning, we all went well..."

As Yu Du said, the plan to rebel in Yecheng was indeed very smooth at the beginning. With the assistance of Han Fu's former commander Geng Wenwei and Biejia Min Bodian, Yu Du sent Hei Xi and Tao Sheng to sneak into the city with their troops. They suddenly launched an attack and successfully captured the city while Yuan Shao's defenders did not react...

But what happened next was beyond Yu Du's imagination.

As Yu Du said, there is a reason why they suffered so many casualties. They had just captured Yecheng during the day, and Tao Sheng suddenly rebelled again at night! Originally, Yecheng was barely suppressed by the Black Mountain Army. However, Tao Sheng's rebellion caused great chaos among the Black Mountain Army. Yuan Shao, who was originally protecting Ye City, and Zhou Shi's family rushed out of Ye City and fled to Cuiqiu...

Later I heard that Yuan Shao was overjoyed after hearing the news and immediately made Tao Sheng the general of Jianyi Zhonglang to show his merit.

Tao Sheng's on-the-spot betrayal immediately put Yu Du into an extremely unfavorable situation.

If the family members of Yuan Shao and others were originally controlled, then Yuan Shao and some of the surrounding noble families would naturally have to be more careful. Even if the people of Jizhou inside and outside the city had any thoughts, they would need to consider what the Black Mountain Army would do if they were forced to do so. What are the consequences of being anxious? However, due to Tao Sheng's actions, the original idea of ​​letting Yuan Shao and others throw a rat weapon was in vain. Yuan Shao's army, free from worries about his family, quickly gathered together and launched a fierce attack on Ye City. At the same time, within Ye City Some large households also took the opportunity to resist. Under internal and external pressure, even though Yu Du had three heads and six arms, he still could not defend Yecheng.

The Black Mountain Army was not a capable soldier to begin with. Many of them were transformed from farmers. Although they had seen blood, there were still some gaps after all. In addition, Yecheng was originally unprepared, so it was caught in a hurry. Now, After everyone reacted, even soldiers from surrounding counties and cities came to suppress the rebellion. How could Yu Du's Black Mountain Army be able to withstand it?

After guarding for less than a day, the casualties were so heavy that Yu Du lost confidence, so he took advantage of the coming of night to break out of Yecheng. However, he was ambushed by Yuan Shao, which greatly reduced his entire combat power. Partially explained, if Yu Du hadn’t realized that the situation was not going well and decided to break out, maybe even he himself would get involved...

Strictly speaking, Yu Du's soldiers were not killed in battle inside and outside Yecheng, but were caused by hunger, fleeing and injuries during this period.

Far away from the Black Mountain area, there was no timely logistical supply, and nearby counties saw the Black Mountain falling into the water, and they all came out to salvage it in an attempt to gain some military exploits. Therefore, Yu Du and the others did not dare to stay in one place for too long, and could only keep doing it. They were wandering around in the mountains, hungry and full. However, there was a lack of medical treatment. Those soldiers who were injured in the battle could not get timely treatment, and basically all suffered from wound infections one after another. And died.

After listening, Zhang Yan nodded silently, patted Yu Du's shoulder, and said nothing. Zhang Yan has been leading the army for many years. As the commander of the Black Mountain Army, he knows this situation very well. After a battle, in most cases, there are far more people injured than killed. If they cannot get timely treatment, the injured will be injured. The losses caused by serious injuries are very staggering. If coupled with the fact that the wounded soldiers do not have enough to eat and their physical fitness cannot be restored, then even a small wound will eventually lead to the death of the whole person. Therefore, it is reasonable for the losses of soldiers to increase sharply. Among the things...

"It's okay. In such a bad situation, you can still have so many people left. Besides, you also involve Yuan Jun's rear, and you also captured Ye City for a time. It is already a great achievement..." Zhang Yan comforted.

This period of time was too difficult for Yu Du, with all the ups and downs. Hearing Zhang Yan's words, Yu Du almost shed tears.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Yan suddenly said: "Commander Yu, you just said... At first there was no movement among the big families in Yecheng, and then after Tao Sheng rebelled, he suddenly started to support him in the city?"

Yu Du held the water bag and said slowly while thinking: "...Yes, at the beginning, there was indeed no resistance from big households in Yecheng... We all thought that there were not many troops in Yecheng, but we didn't expect... …”

Zhang Yan pondered for a while, then suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed. Then in a blink of an eye, he saw Yu Du's cautious look, and smiled and said, "I'm not scolding you, but I'm scolding these big dogs in Jizhou." ! Believe it or not, even if that damn bastard Tao Sheng doesn't rebel, I'm afraid these big guys will still take action that night! Hmph, maybe, this bastard rebelled just because of the temptation of these big guys..."

Yu Du was a little puzzled.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this..." Zhang Yan did not give Yu Du a detailed explanation, but changed the subject and said, "How many of your men are still capable of fighting?"

Yu Du said: "There are still about two thousand, and we can also do other repairs and repairs... Commander, what are we going to do next? Are we going to attack Yecheng again?"

Zhang Yan laughed twice and said: "Of course we have to fight. If we don't fight... I'm afraid some people will have opinions... But how to fight, we still need to think about it..."

Yu Du followed Zhang Yan's gaze and saw a tough and strong man standing out in the valley. The strong man seemed to notice the gazes of Zhang Yan and Yu Du, turned his head and bowed slightly.

Zhang Yan also nodded and returned the gift.

"This person..." Yu Du said, "could he be the one sent by General Gongsun..."

Zhang Yan did not say yes or no, but ordered: "Commander Yu, I will give you two thousand more troops, and then you can take a good rest these two days..."

In fact, Zhang Yan didn't want to fight, because now Yecheng was no longer in his hands, and to attack forcefully would be like holding an egg against a stone, but he had to fight, after all, the previous agreement with Gongsun Zan was over there, and Gongsun Zan also delivered it as agreed. With two thousand war horses just withdrawing like this, I'm afraid there will be no cooperation from Gongsun Zan next time.

What the fight looks like is not very important now, but at least it has to show an attitude.

Zhang Yan looked in the direction of Yecheng in the southeast, pondered for a long time, and said: "Commander Sui should have arrived in the next two days... Yecheng, hum, okay, there are many soldiers in Yecheng, we can't attack it, but I don't believe it, the surrounding people Townships and counties will also have so many troops!”

Yu Duxin understood and said: "Commander, are you talking about attacking surrounding areas and plundering villages and counties?"

Zhang Yan nodded.

"Okay!" Yu Du felt that he had lost so many soldiers but gained nothing. When he thought of this, he gnashed his teeth with hatred. Therefore, he did not have any good impressions of these big noble families in Jizhou, so he turned to Zhang Yan's arrangement is quite agreeable.

Zhang Yan looked at Yu Du's expression, guessed it, and laughed softly: "This time, I guarantee that the Yuan family will not be able to take care of everything at the same time!"

"That's right!" Yu Du said with excitement, but then felt a little regretful, "It's a pity that it's not the autumn harvest time, otherwise we could have snatched back all the surrounding crops!"

Zhang Yan blinked: "Who said now is not the time?"

Tian Fu's eyes widened and he said, "What the Commander-in-Chief means is..."

"...This," Zhang Yan said slowly, "...we failed to capture Yecheng, and there was a traitor among our people. This...is somewhat unjustifiable to General Gongsun, but we still have to Remedy, isn't it? What does Yuan Cheqi and General Gongsun need most to contend with?"

Yu Du gave a high-five and said, "Food and grass!"

Zhang Yan nodded and said: "Yes, since we can't take Yecheng as planned, we must at least do something, haha, to deal with the value of the horses that General Gongsun gave us..."

Zhang Yan continued, "The war has reached this point. Even if the Yuan family had stored up grain and grass, it would have been almost exhausted. If we destroy all the crops in this area, the weather has passed. Even if the Yuan family wants to It’s too late to replant! Even if he still has food and grass elsewhere, it will only last him four or five months. By the end of winter this year and the beginning of tomorrow, the Yuan family will definitely run out of food! At that time, even if he is guarding Yecheng, he will not have enough food. What’s the use?”

Yu Du thought about it, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Zhang Yan with admiration: "The Commander-in-Chief is indeed a very human being, why didn't I think of this..."

Zhang Yan was very satisfied with Yu Du's unabashed admiration, so she laughed loudly, patted Yu Du's shoulder, and said kindly: "You are still young and have less experience. I am old and have experienced more... ...But you can do it as long as you use your brain more. As the saying goes? Well, the one who calculates more wins... Yuan Jiazi wants to maintain the battle line with General Gongsun and maintain the army. How much food does he consume every day? And now How much grain can be produced in Jizhou and how much can be produced in the surrounding counties? These can be roughly calculated..."

Yu Du said: "Only the commander-in-chief can think of this. If it were me, I would definitely not be able to think of anything..."

Zhang Yan laughed and waved her hands slightly.

"...But," Yu Du suddenly thought of something, scratched his scalp and said, "...but, Commander, if all the surrounding Zhuanghe is destroyed...we won't be able to survive by the time autumn comes. Already?"

This can be regarded as a small tacit understanding between the Black Mountain Army and the noble families around Jizhou. The Black Mountain Army will go down the mountain during the autumn harvest every year. At this time, the noble nobles in Jizhou will prepare some food and grass, and then the Black Mountain Army will take it and leave. Of course, they do not have to give it. , then you need to pray that the harvest can be completed before the arrival of the Montenegrin Army, and that the Montenegrin Army will not hold grudges next year...

Indeed, as Yu Du said, if all the surrounding Zhuanghe were destroyed, it would certainly hit Yuan Shao, but it would also affect the Black Mountain Army's harvest this year.

Zhang Yan was silent for a moment and said: "I have already considered this matter... You don't need to worry too much. Okay, go ahead and have a good rest for two days, and then you can seek revenge on the Yuan family..."

"Okay!" Since Zhang Yan didn't want to say anything, Yu Du knew enough not to ask, so he stood up, saluted Zhang Yan, turned around and left...

As Du walked away, the smile on Zhang Yan's face slowly disappeared little by little. He lowered his head, picked up a dead branch from the ground, and traced it on the ground.

Zhang Yan looked for a while, then closed her eyes and meditated for a while, then looked for a while again, nodding or shaking her head from time to time, sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

Zhang Yan stared at a mark on the map without moving for a long time.

After a while, Zhang Yan stretched out her foot and erased all the patterns or marks drawn on the ground. Then she raised her head, squinted her eyes, and looked up at the gradually darkening sky above, looking at the Taihang Mountains in the distance that gradually turned a little blue and black. , his eyes gradually became sharp.

Zhang Yan has different emotions for this piece of sky and this mountainous land.

Ten years ago, when he was still a teenager, his name was Chu Yan.

When the Yellow Turban broke out in the first year of Zhongping, Chu Yan was just a prodigal. He gathered a group of idle teenagers all day long to steal money. Sometimes he also attacked those one-legged businessmen, stealing and robbing money in this part of the Taihang Mountains. They spent all their money eating, drinking, and spending all their money with their subordinates, but they never thought that such behavior would attract more and more people to join them...

In the second year of Zhongping, Boling Zhang Niujiao took advantage of the Yellow Turban chaos and gathered a group of people, claiming to be generals, and then found Chu Yan...

Later, Chu Yan elected Zhang Niujiao as the leader and looted everywhere, so the team grew larger and larger. Later, when he marched to attack Yitao, Zhang Niujiao was shot by a stray arrow and was seriously injured. Before he died, he ordered his subordinates to respect With Chu Yan as the leader, Chu Yan changed his surname to Zhang...

Later, the Yellow Turbans were defeated, and Zhang Yan did not dare to fight head-on with the highly motivated imperial army, so he hid in Black Mountain. Although he has been the leader of the Black Mountains in the past few years and was even recruited by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, after all, the Black Mountains are too barren. The mountains are either wood or stones, so it is not a good place.

Absolutely not.